In the case of an electrical plug device, which consists of two plug connector parts which can be joined together, the force required to join together or separate the two plug connector parts is dependent on the number of plug contact elements which are in each case assigned in pairs in the plug device. If there is a large number of plug contact elements, the joining and separating force of the plug device can be applied only using an auxiliary means, which may be arranged directly on one of the two plug connector parts and is designed, for example, as a slide.
German Patent No. DE 36 45 179 C2 describes an electrical plug device, in which the auxiliary means used for joining and separating the plug device is a slide, which is arranged so that it can be displaced perpendicularly with respect to the insertion and separation direction, is of U-shaped design, has parallel legs extending from a web, and can be inserted by the legs through guide openings on one of the transverse sides of the one plug connector part.
Starting from an unlocking position, which forms one of the two end positions of the slide, in which the legs are passed through the guide openings only over part of their length and in which the two plug connector parts can be brought together for the purpose of making contact, the slide can be displaced into the other end position, the locking position, when the web is laid against the transverse wall, in which the guide openings are located, of the one plug connector part. As a result of the legs being completely pushed into the one plug connector part in the process, the plug device is closed when the plug contact elements make contact.
When the plug device is used under confined space conditions, for example directly on units in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, it can be disadvantageous that the capability of assembling the slide with respect to the unlocking position, in which the plug device has a large space requirement due to the necessary spacing of the web from the transverse wall of the one plug connector part, can take place only in one direction. This is particularly disadvantageous when the plug device is manufactured in large numbers for the purpose of cost-effective production and iS intended to be used under a wide variety of installation conditions.